what is a power conditioner?

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What is a power conditioner? I've just received a little Coleman 800 watt generator, and it recommends using a power conditioner when running sensitive equipment such as computers.

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), July 27, 1999

Answers

Similar to a UPS but it is designed to just smoth out the irregularities in th epower, the cycle irregularities, the voltage irregularities, etc.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), July 27, 1999.


I hope you got that little genset for free (or nearly so).

Many of those units DIE within HOURS of being used. STRONGLY SUGGEST RUNNING FOR AT LEAST 20 HOURS UNDER MODERATE LOAD.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 28, 1999.


Thanks for the heads up on the break-in period. Is it a motor or generator problem?

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), July 28, 1999.

FIRST, the "lawnmover" style engines are only good for a few hundred hours.

SECOND, the "generator end" is not mfd of quality parts on the small "inexpensive" gensets. Go to the Juice page, (CLICK HERE) for more info.

Bottom line: unless you get a genset in at LEAST the $1200-$2000 range, you'd better not trust your life to it...

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 28, 1999.


"Clean" power is a sine wave, very smooth, changes direction 60 times a second but makes a smooth curve. Some generators put out a very "square" wave, abrupt changes in voltage. To an electric motor this is real stressful, like listening to fingernails on blackboard. Like running a gasoline engine with no flywheel, the little parts are just shaking and banging.

The "square" is actually a series of high-frequency waves, and it can set up all kinds of hazardous electric ripples in a transformer, or electric motor.

A power conditioner chokes off those high frequencies.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), July 29, 1999.



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